Stop limit means for dip stick closures



Oct. 31, 1967 A. MOELLER STOP LIMIT MEANS FOR DIP STICK CLOSURES Filed May 2, 1966 INVENTOR AX EL MOELLER GEORGE w) WRIGHT, JR.

United States Patent 3,349,944 STOP LIMIT MEANS FOR DIP STICK CLOSURES Axel Moeller, St. Petersburg Beach, Fla, assignor to Mueller Mfg. Co., Inc., Greenville, Miss, a corporation of Wisconsin Filed May 2, 1966, Ser. No. 546,638 3 Claims. (Cl. 22024.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An oil level testing dip stick and closure having a resilient expanding stopper plug to tightly engage the entrance throat of an oil filling spout and being particularly provided with means to prevent the over-tightening and expansion of the resilient stopper which often results in its working loose from the throat rather than staying sealed thereto. The particular means utilized is in the nature of a cylindrical sleeve which surrounds an adjustable threaded shank portion and has one end resting on an inner compression plate and its other end adapted to contact an enlarged shank portion of the threaded rod to limit the movement of an inner and outer compression plate toward one another.

This invention appertains to an oil level testing dip stick and closure and more particularly to a novel limit stop means and is an improvement over the dip stick and closure described in my co-pending application entitled Oil Level Testing Dip Stick and Closure. As explained in my co-pending application, it is common practice in heavy equipment vehicles to provide an oil level dip stick carrying a cap which fits loosely on the outer end of the crankcase oil filling spout. This cap is suband to firmly hold the dip stick in position and seal the entrance pipe against dust and dirt.

In utilizing the type of closure for the dip stick described in my co-pending application it has been found that in certain instances it is possible to expand the resilient stopper body between compression plates to a point wherein the rubber resilient body flows upwardly toward the neck or throat of the oil filling spout and will eventually, when the stopper is adjusted too tightly, work loose and defeat its purpose.

It is therefore a primary object of my present invention to provide a novel stop and limit means for the closure of an oil level testing dip stick which will prevent the over tightening and expansion of the resilient stopper body and which will give a maximum sealing of the closure in the throat of the oil filling spout.

Still another object of my present invention is to provide an oil level testing dip stick and closure as described in my co-pending application with a novel stop sleeve or collar positioned between the compression plates and within the axial bore of the resilient stopper body to prevent and limit the tightening and expanding of the closure per se to provide a more effective and perfect seal.

A salient feature of my present invention resides in providing an adjustable closure for an oil level testing "ice dip stick embodying an expanding resilient stopper body having an axial bore or way therethrou'gh positioned between an inner and outer compression plate, the inner compression plate being associated with a traveling nut received on a rotatable threaded adjusting rod so that by turning movement of the rotatable adjusting rod the inner and outer compression plates will be drawn toward one another to expand the resilient body and to provide means in the nature of an abutment on the shank of the rotatable adjusting rod and a sleeve within the axial bore to limit the travel of the inner compression plate toward the outer compression plate.

Another important object of my present invention is to provide a novel stop and limit means for the travel of the inner compression plate which is simple in construction, reliable in its operation and not liable to become defective.

With these and other objects in view, and to the end of attaining any other advantage hereinafter appearing, this invention consists in certain features of construction and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an oil testing dip stick, a fragmentary vertical section being taken through the closure thereof to illustrate the novel features of the invention, the closure being shown in its inoperative position;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, but illustrating the closure in its operative position wherein the inner compression plate has reached its limit of travel and the resilient stopper body is expanded to its critical effective sealing position;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 of the drawings and looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URE 1 of the drawings but illustrating a modified form of the closure construction.

A clearer understanding of the construction and method of operation of this invention may be had by referring to the drawings forming a part of the present specification, wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. Generally, the letter D indicates my new and improved oil level testing dip stick construction and the same includes broadly the body of the closure 10, dip stick body 11 and means in the way of a handle 12 for rotating the threaded adjustable rod 13 to compress the resilient expandable body 14 between the inner compression plate 15 and outer compression plate 16.

The general structure of the closure body per se is shown and described in many of my prior patents, among which are the following: No. 2,729,353; No. 2,347,835; No. 2,315,538 and No. 2,292,149, issued respectively on Jan. 3, 1956; May 2, 1944; April 6, 1943, and Aug. 4, 1942. Thus the resilient expandable body particularly for use in connection with the sealing throat of an oil filling spout (not shown) is molded from a Hycar rubber compound, the outer periphery of which is provided with a number of sealing ribs 17 and through the axial center of the body a bore or way 18 is formed of a size and configuration to rotatably receive the enlarged abutment portion 19 of the threaded rotatable rod 13. It should be noted that the lower reduced threaded portion 20 of the rotatable threaded rod 13 is of a size and configuration to extend beyond the lower end termination of the resilient expandable body 14 and as previously mentioned the body is confined between an outer compression plate 16 and inner compression plate 15. The outer compression plate 16 is of a larger circumference than the inner compression plate to receive the upper thickened end 22 of the body 14 and has a depending outer peripheral flange 23 into which the upper end 22 of the body is received. Outer compression plate 16 is also provided with an enlarged aperture at its axial center of a sufiicient dimension to freely receive the enlarged abutment shank portion 19 of the rod 13. The inner compression plate 15 has its axlal center struck up to provide a cylindrical sleeve or boss 25 which is internally threaded to form a travelling nut on the lower threaded rotatable rod portion 20 and means is provided (note the dotted lines of FIGURE 1 and indicated by the reference numeral 26) to prevent the inner compression plate from rotating in relation to the body 14. Generally, this means includes projecting ribs or the like which are embedded Within the body 14. The lower end termination of the rotatable threaded rod 13 may be crimped as indicated by the reference numeral 27 to prevent the inner compression plate 15 from moving entirely off the end of the rod should the rod be rotated in such a manner as to completely loosen said plate and as previously shown and described in my co-pending application, the dip stick body 11 may be Welded or otherwise secured to the lower end of the rod 13, as shown.

From the description so far it can be seen that by turning the handle 12 which is integral with the rod 13, in one direction, the inner compression plate will move from its full line position toward its dotted line position FIGURE 1, and no pressure is placed upon the resilient body. However, as handle 12 is rotating in the opposite direction inner compression plate will drive the threaded portion 20 of the rod 13 toward the outer compression plate 16 and the resilient expandable body 14 will be compressed and expanded as shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings.

In the structure shown in my co-pending application it is possible to continue to rotate the handle 12 to further compress the body 14 to such an extent that the rubber will flow upwardly and off the throat or end of the oil filling spout causing the stopper to lose its sealing and holding capacity and it has been found particularly where Hycar rubber is utilized to seal against an extremely smooth surface that this continued, i.e., over tightening, actually causes the closure to lose its effectiveness and thus a jar or the like could disengage the closure from the oil filling spout and dust and dirt could then readily enter the same and further, a correct indication of the oil level would not be possible.

To prevent the over expansion and flowing of the re silient stopper body within the oil filling spout, I provide in the present invention a stop means and this means includes a cylindrical sleeve 30 which snugly engages within the bore or way 18 of the stopper body 14 adjacent its lower end and the inner compression plate 15. This sleeve 30 may be loosely placed within the bore or way or can be press fitted or welded to the struck up portion of the inner compression plate as desired. In any event, the height of the cylindrical sleeve 30 varies in accordance with the size of the resilient stopper body 14 and the particular type of oil filling spout with which the closure is to be associated. The proper expansion of the body 14 for any particular use can be easily ascertained and the proper length sleeve is then selected at the factory and placed within the bore 18 as mentioned, when the stopper is being assembled.

Thus it is only possible to rotate the handle 12 to a point wherein the outer edge 31 of the cylindrical sleeve engages the inner surface of the abutment 19 and further rotation of the rod and movement of the inner compression plate is prevented and thus the most effective sealing position of the resilient body 14 is had.

I may also provide a steel washer 35 as a bearing surface for the portion 36 of the handle 12 and this aids also ir:S preventing the distortion of the outer compression plate 1 Stop sleeve 30 as Well as the enlarged abutment 19 of rod 13 cooperate to prevent the inner collapsing of the resilient body 14 against the reduced threaded portion 20 of the rod and thus the exact expansion of the resilient body 14 as shown in FIGURE 2 may be controlled and the' most effective sealing position readily and easily accomplished.

In FIGURE 4 of the drawings, I have illustrated a slightly modified construction in the inner compression plate 15 and have also illustrated a wing type handle 37 in lieu of the cross-bar type shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The main difference, however, as indicated above, resides in the construction of the inner compression plate 15 and in lieu of the struck up portion 25 I provide the traveling nut 25 and this nut is provided with a peripheral groove 38 into which are snapped the edges of the axial aperture 39 formed in the compression plate 15. The construction of the outer compression plate 16, washer 35, resilient body 14 and rotatable rod 13 is identical to that form of the invention previously described. In this instance, however, the stop or limit sleeve 30 rests on the outer peripheral edge of nut 25 and may be welded thereto or just loosely received in the bore or way 18.

From the foregoing it is believed that the features and advantages of my present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An oil level testing dip stick having a closure body for sealing the oil filler pipe of an internal combustion engine including a resilient compressible stopper body having an axial bore therethrough, inner and outer compression plates engaging the opposite ends of said stopper body, the outer compression plate having an axial opening in alignment with said axial bore, said inner compression plate being provided at its axial center with an internally threaded nut, a rod rotatably mounted in the opening of the outer compression plate and having a reduced threaded inner end of a size and configuration to be received in the nut of said inner compression plate, the outer end of said rod including an enlarged shank portion received in said axial bore and said reduced threaded portion of said rod being continued beyond the inner compression plate, a dip stick body secured to the inner end termination of said rotatable rod, a stop limit sleeve of a generally cylindrical shape positioned in said axial bore adjacent said inner compression plate and about a respective portion of said reduced threaded rod end, and an operating handle on the outer end of the rod for turning the same in the inner compression plate, whereby upon turning of the handle in one direction the inner compression plate will be drawn toward the outer compression plate to expand said resilient compressible body against the Walls of the oil filler pipe and whereby the outer end of said stop limit sleeve will engage the enlarged shank portion of said rod to limit the movement of said inner compression plate.

2. An oil level testing dip stick as set forth in claim 1, wherein means is provided for anchoring the inner compression plate to said compressible stopper body, and means on said reduced threaded rod portion for preventing the inner compression plate from moving off the inner end termination of said rod.

3. An oil level testing dip stick as set forth in claim 1, wherein said threaded nut is formed by providing an inwardly struck axially disposed internally threaded sleeve on the inner compression plate.

References Cited JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. JAMES B. MARBERT, Examiner. 

1. AN OIL LEVEL TESTING DIP STICK HAVING A CLOSURE BODY FOR SEALING THE OIL FILLER PIPE OF AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE INCLUDING A RESILIENT COMPRESSIBLE STOPPER BODY HAVING AN AXIAL BORE THERETHROUGH, INNER AND OUTER COMPRESSION PLATES ENGAGING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID STOPPER BODY, THE OUTER COMPRESSION PLATE HAVING AN AXIAL OPENING IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID AXIAL BORE, SAID INNER COMPRESSION PLATE BEING PROVIDED AT ITS AXIAL CENTER WITH AN INTERNALLY THREADED NUT, A ROD ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE OPENING OF THE OUTER COMPRESSION PLATE AND HAVING A REDUCED THREADED INNER END OF A SIZE AND CONFIGURATION TO BE RETHREADED INNER END OF A SIZE AND CONFIGURATION TO BE RECEIVED IN THE NUT OF SAID INNER COMPRESSION PLATE, THE OUTER END OF SAID ROD INCLUDING AN ENLARGED SHANK PORPORTION OF SAID ROD BEING CONTINUED BEYOND THE INNER COMPRESSION PLATE, A DIP STICK BODY SECURED TO THE INNER END TERMINATION OF SAID ROTATABLE ROD, A STOP LIMIT SLEEVE OF A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL SHAPE POSITIONED IN SAID AXIAL BORE ADJACENT SAID INNER COMPRESSION PLATE AND ABOUT A RESPECTIVE PORTION OF SAID REDUCED THREADED ROD END, AND AN OPERATING HANDLE ON THE OUTER END OF THE ROD FOR TURNING THE SAME IN THE INNER COMPRESSION PLATE, WHEREBY UPON TURNING OF THE HANDLE IN ONE DIRECTION THE INNER COMPRESSION PLATE WILL BE DRAWN TOWARD THE OUTER COMPRESSION PLATE TO EXPAND SAID RESILIENT COMPRESSIBLE BODY AGAINST THE WALLS OF THE OIL FILLER PIPE AND WHEREBY THE OUTER END OF SAID STOP LIMIT SLEEVE WILL ENGAGE THE ENLARGED SHANK PORTION OF SAID ROD TO LIMIT THE MOVEMENT OF SAID INNER COMPRESSION PLATE. 